Monday, May 30, 2016

On this Memorial Day Grant peace to the souls of all those soldiers who died in war. We remember the tears and grief of their families, the pain of mothers, wives, husbands and children Who lost precious loved ones. To build a meaningful memorial to them, we ask God to give us all the will to work for peace around the world, so no more sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, or mothers are slaughtered by the guns and bombs of war. We ask Mary, who held the lifeless body of her son and was pierced by the sorrow of his suffering and death, to grant us the compassion and wisdom to affirm life and honor the dead through forgiveness and peace-making. May God have mercy on the souls of the departed. Grant them peace, O Lord. May we have mercy on the living. Grant us peace, O Lord. In your name, we pray. Amen. Poem sourceImage source: Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, overlooking Omaha Beach, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France

Being for every man the
touchstone of faith and love, the Eucharist, like the Cross, divided minds
as soon as it was announced.Nothing
engages a man as much as does the Eucharist.

The man who partakes
in the breaking of the bread dares to build his house on the very core of
love.He becomes, as it were, Godlike,
but regardless of the strength he derives from it, his free will remains. We
are always free to disown this immense grace, to abuse it.The Greatest Love may be betrayed.Fed on the Living Bread, we nevertheless
conceal a part of ourselves which longs for swine’s food.

The Eucharist engages
us unreservedly; it is a pact of love, an alliance signed in the deeper
recesses of our being.All our
potentialities are called upon to warrant the protection and fulfillment of
this pact.